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What To Think About When Dressing Up In A Harry Houdini Costume

If you have an interest in magic, a Harry Houdini costume is a fun idea to wear for Halloween or any other costume party you may attend. You can even wear a Harry Houdini costume if you like to perform magic tricks. Wearing a Harry Houdini costume will give your magic act a distinct look.

While the Houdini name may be famous, if you wear a Harry Houdini costume you may not be instantly recognizable. While he was a famous personality in the early part of the 1900’s, during current times he probably is not very well known. If you like magic and the history of magic acts you will appreciate the recreation of a Harry Houdini costume.

If you choose to wear a Harry Houdini costume, it will be a unique one of a kind costume idea. A Harry Houdini costume would have to include Halloween props from some of Houdini’s famous magic acts.

Who is Harry Houdini?

If you are looking to wear a Harry Houdini costume you may as well learn some interesting information about the most famous magician in history.

Houdini was a famous escape artist and illusionist whose real name was Erik Weisz. He was born in Hungary in March 1874 and came to the United States when he was four years old.

Harry Houdini was his stage name. Early in his career he performed magic tricks with cards and was known as the “King of Cards”. Later in his career he focused on escaping from a variety of things such as hand cuffs, jail cells, straight jackets, locked boxes and chains. Much of his magic was based on brute strength and agility skills and he never graduated from any higher education schools.

Harry Houdini died at the age of 52 from a ruptured appendix. He coincidently died on October 31 which is Halloween.

Famous Harry Houdini Tricks

Harry Houdini is known for many elaborate magic tricks and escape acts throughout his career. A Harry Houdini costume would have to include items he uses to perform his magic. Some of Houdini’s most famous magic tricks include:

The straight jacket escape is probably the most well known of Houdini’s acts. He created an act around escaping from a straight jacket. He would often hang upside down in order to make the escape act seem more difficult and exciting. Houdini’s escape was performed with strength and technical knowhow. He was able to escape from both leather and canvas straight jackets and if you want to have an authentic Harry Houdini costume you should consider including a straight jacket as part of the costume.

Houdini’s most famous water trick was the Chinese water torture trick which found him bound in chains and lowered upside down into a glass tank of water which was concealed from the audience. He always performed his escape while hidden behind a curtain. Houdini was able to conceal keys inside his mouth that lent to his ability to escape from things.

The milk can escape was another act that Houdini was well known for. He sealed himself inside of a padlock milk can that was filled with water. Once again he performed his escape behind a curtain.

One of Houdini's most difficult tricks was his popular "Needle Trick". He would swallow many needles along with thread and then draw the needles from his mouth all threaded. His ability to regurgitate items was one of the secrets to this trick. You could create a Harry Houdini costume by wearing an old time outfit and have a string of needles hanging from your mouth.

Why Is Harry Houdini Still Remembered Today?

To this day Houdini's name is recognized worldwide as a great magician and showman. His ability to market himself and love of adventurous challenges created the image that withstands history today.

Harry Houdini is probably the most famous and well known escape artist in history. His feats entertained people and he loved to perform them. Later on in his life he revealed some of the secrets to his escape tricks.

He is also known for his spiritualism and has long been associated with haunted houses and séances. In order to prove the existence of an afterlife, before he died he gave his wife a code which he said he would communicate with the Earth world after his death but no one has ever been able to successfully reveal the code.

Houdini was given a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1960. His name has always been connected with the word magic.

Wearing a Harry Houdini costume would be a tribute to a great man in entertainment history. As you can see, in order to create a Harry Houdini costume you would have to include some of his magic trick props that made his escapes so famous.